Paper short abstract:

The paper explores sexual and intimate relationships in urban Maputo and its role in the definition of one´s sense of self. It discusses how agency, marriage and love mediate the process.

Paper long abstract:

Through the analysis of urban wealthy young adults´ sexual and intimate lives, this paper explores the complexities of their social affirmation in Maputo. How young adults use sexuality to give a sense of self and personhood in a context marked by rapid transformations occurring in the country intertwined with the legacy of colonialism, socialism, civil war and liberalization of the economy is a significant question. Tactical agency emerges as a critical concept to explain the ways in which both men and women manoeuvre to reach emotional stability and social recognition. In the process, marriage is the key means to socially recognized adulthood however; the process towards it is perilous as it involves a constant negotiation of expectations. Finally, love emerges as a space of catharsis in which individuals feel at ease and distant from social pressures and the desire to ´fit in´. Paradoxically it is a space of stress, it is perceived as a source of profound unhappiness when things go wrong.